Improved folding arm-chair



UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

WILLIAM C. GOODIVIN, OF IIAMDEN, CONNECTICUT.

IMPROVED FOLDING ARM-CHAIR.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 34,204, dated January 2l, 1862.

To @ZZ whom it may concern/.-

Be it known that I, WILLIAM C. GOODWIN, of the town of Hamden, in the county of New Haven and State of Connecticut,haveinvented a new and useful Improvement in Folding Arm-Chairs; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description of the construction, character, and operation of the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, which make part of this specification, in which- Figure 1 is a perspective View of the armchair readyv for use as a seat. Fig. 2 is a perspective view of the same ready for packing. Fig. 3 is a section of the same cut longitudinally through one of the back posts, arms, double side rails, the.

My improvement consists in making the side rails of the seat double or of two pieces, as of a cylinder sawed longitudinally through the center, so as to have the legs in one part and the posts which support the arms in the other part, and in hangin-g the two parts of each together by lapping the sacking around the joint and nailing it to both parts, so as to form a complete iiexible hinge for the whole width of the sacking, to operate in such a manner that the weight on the seat or sacking will tend constantly to bind the two parts more firmly together, and in having the posts which sustain the arms pass through, so that their ends act as dowels and serve materially to preserve the hinges and strengthen the chair.

I make the cross-legs or supporters of any suitable material and connect or attach them together in the usual way, as shown at A, Figs. l and 2. I make each of the side rails double or of two pieces, as shown at a and b, Figs. l, 2, and 3, by taking a cylinder and sawing it longitudinally through the center or in any other convenient way. Before sawing or separating the parts a and h, I bore the holes for theposts d and e a little more than half-way through, so as to make the holes or spaces for the dowels exactly correspond with the ends of the posts, as shown at g and h, Fig. 3. I secure the upper ends of the crosslegs to the lower pieces or parts l) and b of the double side rails by inserting them into holes, as shown at c and c, Figs. l and 2, in the usual or any other way, and I secure the posts or upright supports dand cof the arms B and B into the upper pieces or parts a and a of the double rails of the seat by inserting them into holes, as shown at g and h, Fig. 3, and indicated in Figs. 1 and 2; and to strengthen the chair and prevent irregular strain on the hinges I bore the holes a short distance into the upper surface of the parts o and b-that is, I bore a little more than half-way through the cylinder before I saw it open, as before describedso as to allow the lower ends of the posts d and cto pass through the parts ct and a and serve as dowels, as shown at g and h, Fig. 3.

I attach the sacking C by nailing its two ends to the lower parts b and o of the side rails of the seat in the usual manner with one or more rows of nails; and I also secure it to the upper parts ct and a of the rails by nailing it near the edges of the pieces, as indicated at Ct b, Fig. 2, so that the sacking will form a complete hinge on each side for the whole width of the sacking, as indicated in Figs. l and 2.

I secure the back strap I) to the upper portion of one of the posts cl, as shown at Z, Figs. l and 2, and form a loop on the other end, as shown at m, Fig. 2, to slip onto the other post d, so that when the arm-chair is ready for use it will be in all essential respects as represented in Fig. 1, and when ready for packing, as represented in Fig. 2, and when the arms are down, as shown in Fig. 2, by spreading the legs as far as the sacking will permit, it will form a very convenient stand.

The advantages of my improvement consist in that by making the sacking serve as hinges I save the expense of butts, the., and in that the sacking hinges are far less liable to get out of order than butts or any other hinges which are put on with screws, and they make a much neater finish, and in that any substance of sufficient flexibility and strength may be used for the sacking or seat either plain or ornamental, and in that the sacking by passing so far around the double rails will lessen the strain on the nails, rc, as well as binding the two parts the more firmly together as the Weight on the seat increases, and in that the lower ends of they posts el and e, serving' as dowels, counteract any tendency of the upper part a to slip on the lower part b, so as to strain the hinges.

I am aware that folding arm-chairs have heretofore been made in which the two parts of the side rails have been hung or hinged together by metallic butts and the cloth or sackng nailed to the lower parts only. IA therefore do not claim any such, nor any which have metallic hinges; but- What I claim as my invention, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

The folding arm-chair made with doubleseat rails when the substance used for the sacking or seat also constitutes the hinges and the whole is constructed and fitted for use, substantially as herein described.

W. C. GOODWIN.

Witnesses:

T. S. HoTCHKIss, R. FITZGERALD. 

